This invention relates to sailboats, and more particularly to means for adjusting the tension in a backstay of the type being connected to the transom by means of a bridle.
The mast of larger sailboats is supported by a headstay which slants toward the fore portion of the boat, sidestays and a backstay which slants toward the aft portion of the boat. The backstay is adjusted to vary the tension in the other stays and thereby control the amount of sag in the rigging when the sail is under load, such as when the sailboat is going to weather. Increased tension in the stays increases the compression load on the mast and permits the sail shape to be varied.
It is often necessary to change backstay tension during sailing to vary the sail shape and sag in the rigging. In the past backstay tension has been adjusted by blocks mounted on each of the cables of the backstay bridle and interconnected by a ring on which a third block is mounted. A disadvantage of using the blocks is that they produce a large wrap angle in the cables of the bridle and cause bending and fatigue within the cables.
Also, the prior art devices are relatively expensive because they require assembly of a number of individual, general purpose components in a unit rather than one self-contained article designed for the tensioning function.